The configuration of networked publics on the web: evidence from the Greek Indignados movement

Authors:
Xuesong Lu;Giorgos Cheliotis;Xiyue Cao;Yi Song;Stéphane Bressan
Affiliations:
National University of Singapore;National University of Singapore;National University of Singapore;National University of Singapore;National University of Singapore
Venue:
Proceedings of the 3rd Annual ACM Web Science Conference
Year:
2012

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Abstract

The Internet, and social media in particular, are frequently credited in public discourse with being instrumental for the development and coordination of various contemporary social movements. We examine the evolution of Facebook activity in relation to the movement of the Greek Indignados of 2011, by collecting the electronic traces of their public communications on Facebook pages for a period of 8 months. We analyze the resulting bipartite graphs consisting of users posting to pages, using social network analysis. We reveal some of the dynamics of structural properties of the network over time and explain what these mean for the configuration of networked publics on social network sites. We conclude that the very early stages of activity are essential in determining this configuration, because users converge quickly and exclusively on a small number of pages. When gradually activity is reduced, the reduction is strongest in the most active users and the most popular pages, but when activity resumes, users return to the same pages. We discuss implications for the organization of collective action on social network sites.